A massive wave of anger swept through the ranks of the England national team and its fans on social media, after French referee Clément Turpin failed to award an obvious foul against striker Harry Kane seconds before Norway scored the opening goal in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
At the 36th minute, Norwegian midfielder Patrick Berg tackled Kane forcefully, but Turpin signaled for play to continue, allowing Norway to capitalize as Andreas Schjelderup fired a rocket-like cross that nestled into the top corner of Jordan Pickford’s goal, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
The Three Lions players protested the decision vehemently, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) did not intervene to review the incident, raising widespread questions about officiating standards in the tournament, especially since German coach Thomas Tuchel had previously described Turpin as a “fifth-rate” referee in 2023 after Bayern Munich’s Champions League match against Manchester City, saying: “I give him 1/10, his performance was extremely poor, it’s unbelievable at this level.”
“The tournament is rigged”.. accusations on social media
British newspaper The Sun reported that social media erupted with accusations that the tournament was “rigged” and “fixed,” with one fan writing on X: “I turned off the Norway vs England match and walked away, this is unacceptable and an insult to fans’ intelligence, this is a rigged tournament, Kane was fouled 100%.”
Another added: “Foul on Kane before Norway’s goal, VAR? Goal, I can confidently say the tournament is rigged in Argentina’s favor to ease their path to the final via Norway.”
A third commented: “Oh my God, a foul was awarded against Kane, England were cheated, this tournament is rigged in Norway’s favor.”
Fans linked the incident to a similar one in Argentina’s round-of-16 match against Egypt, when VAR disallowed Egypt’s second goal in the 58th minute after ruling a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martínez, before Argentina came back from two goals down to win 3-2, fueling suspicions of double standards in officiating.
Bellingham rescues England amid controversy
Despite the outrage, Jude Bellingham equalized for England in the first half with a superb strike into the bottom corner, before the Three Lions escaped a certain goal when Turpin disallowed a Norway goal scored by Torbjørn Heggem from a corner due to a foul by Erling Haaland on Elliot Anderson, a decision that sparked counter-controversy over the referee’s bias.
Bellingham sealed the match with a second goal early in extra time to give England a 2-1 victory and qualification to the semi-finals, but the officiating controversy continued to overshadow the result, with growing calls for a full review of refereeing and VAR performance in the tournament.
